When I volunteered to review “Pearl” (2022), I failed to remember how strange it was the first time I watched it.
I will say, though, that rewatching allowed for a deeper analysis of Pearl’s (Mia Goth) character. But I also wonder if this movie would’ve been successful had Mia Goth not starred as Pearl. Goth embodies Pearl, blurring the line between the actress and the character.
Goth is a star in this trilogy’s universe as she plays Maxine in the first movie, “X” (2022), and in “MaXXXine” (2024), the sequel. Goth also plays “Pearl,” which is a prequel to “X,” and to me, that was a little odd; the same actress plays a different character in the same trilogy, almost as if she were recycled.
After watching it again, it becomes apparent why filmmaker Ti West decided to cast Goth as Pearl. I can’t envision anyone else portraying Pearl’s desperation to leave her family farm and chase her dreams.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The second time around, I became blind to her faults, and I realized that Pearl is a representation of what loneliness and confinement can do to someone.
God forbid a girl refuses the life she has and craves more for herself. In her defense, she had tried to escape farm life, but her husband wanted to stay on the farm, only to end up leaving her behind when he joined the army during World War I. Even then, in this Technicolor film, I sympathize with Pearl because she doesn’t have any support from her parents.
Pearl’s father (Matthew Sunderland) never says a word because he is paralyzed. I honestly think this is Pearl’s German immigrant mother (Tandi Wright) doing to prevent him from leaving for war. She emphasizes to Pearl that she has made hard decisions and that she did not ask for this life either. If Pearl’s mother did play a part in Pearl’s dad being paralyzed, then she isn’t that different from Pearl.
The only difference between Pearl’s mother and Pearl is that she is more accepting of the world, carefree and ambitious, compared to her mother, who confines herself to safety, does what’s necessary to get by and distrusts the outside world. This often leads to parent-child conflict, making Pearl feel misunderstood.
This comes to light in the scene where Pearl tells her mom that she wants to try out for a dance troupe, to at least find out if she is any good. When her mom says no, that becomes Pearl’s last straw. So, is Pearl really the villain?
Loneliness and confinement under the right circumstances can lead to desperate behavior. I wouldn’t say her murderous body count is right, but if people had supported her, and her mother had guided her to control her emotions, then she wouldn’t have felt the need to take her desperation out on people or farm animals.
This film definitely isn’t for everyone. I definitely wouldn’t recommend watching this with your parents, and it is definitely far from horror; it is more of a gore film. I still enjoyed Pearl’s storyline, as it does fill in some gaps from “X,” so I rate this a 7/10.
